August 31, 2009

In the Criminal Justice System of Gotham City the people are represented by three separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders, and the Batman. These are their stories.

A friend sent me a link to the current Gamestop TV Commercial for the BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game. Basically you can unlock a special skeleton-infested Scarecrow challenge map, only when you pre-order the game from them. Since it's just 30 seconds I thought I'd put another one here that is equally as good. Well,OK, I think it's actually better, ha ha! This is a fan-made promo trailer for the new game & it's very well put together, nice editing...enjoy!

August 30, 2009

I hope this post brings back a lot of fond memories for many readers. I grew-up in the 1970's & was totally into comic books at that time, a super-collector! I even liked toys & action figures too but was not really a big toy collector like I am now ( In hindsight I WISH I would have bought a bunch of stuff then, ha ha ). I remember one day, in the mid-1970's, I saw an ad in the back of one of my favorite comic books. You could get a catalog for, I think, 50 cents + postage that promised to be filled with all kinds of superhero goodies. Because I was a big fan of this kinda thing I mailed away for one. WOW! Was I ever happy I did! This is the 1st Issue of The SUPERHERO CATALOG OF GAMES, BOOKS, TOYS, & PUZZLES!! This catalog was pretty unique for 3 main reasons. One, It was published in a comic book format. Two, instead of photos for all the products they were hand-drawn like comic book art, and Three, it was jam-packed with tons of very cool superhero items that, at the time, you would NEVER SEE at all the department stores or even the best-stocked comic book shops. Now, I'm mainly sharing the pages that are "Batman-related" but this baby was filled with Comic Books, Specialty Books about Comics, Star Wars Toys, Super Hero T-Shirts, Action Figures, Micronauts, Novelty Clocks, Mego Dolls, Clothing, and many many other pieces of merchandise with all the DC & Marvel Comics Characters you could ever dream about!! And, oh man, I used to totally drool over every single issue. It was just filled with magic & I would fantasize about buying everything in it. I remember that I did buy a few pieces from it. I used to (still do ) totally love those HUGE Treasury Comics that DC made. I collected them & the ones that were harder to find I would get here. I bought a few weird Star Wars items. I fondly remember getting a Star Wars Stormtrooper Costume Helmet. I also remember buying a few Mego Dolls ( in the original boxes! ). One neat thing about the art was that the whole catalog was done by art students from the Joe Kubert School of Comic Art ( still in business today ). Kubert even drew a lot of it & the stuff he didn't was still sort of drawn in his style. I was a big fan of his artwork at the time ( really loved his Sgt. Rock books ) so this was just a bonus! So, does anybody else remember these? If so then please leave a comment & share your stories. I know there's gotta be a lot of people who loved these as much as I did. Also, I guess, if you have never seen one of these RARE catalogs before then there are some really great collectible toys to drool over, ha ha!

A new friend named Lauren, who just recently discovered this site, sent me a really nice letter saying how much she enjoys the Bat-Blog & you know I always love that! Well, She was also nice enough to send some really wonderful photos of an "Animated Batman Lamp" she recently bought. The thing is extremely cool! When you push a button on the base it lights-up, plays the 1989 Batman movie theme song, & then a fan blows his cape to make him look regal & majestic, ha ha! Oh man! How cool is that?! Then, when I e-mailed her to ask where she got it she said Amazon & then, because she was so excited about how cool this thing is, she made a video to show the functions of the lamp ...WOW! Thank you very very much Lauren! This thing is so awesome it really makes me want to get one tonight, ha ha! If any other readers would like to purchase one then all I ask is that you use the link button down below. For every sale I will probably make about 10 cents, ha ha! But really, I just think this is an amazing new piece of Bat-merchandise. Thanks again Lauren...YOU ROCK!

August 28, 2009

I just found out about an artist named Matt Allison who's work I really like a lot. He contacted me the other day to share some graphics he made that he thought Bat-Blog Readers would enjoy. Well, they're really great! What he did was his own interpretation of an actual silver-age Batman comic book cover that is drawn in his special graphic style. I mean, it looks just like the original but is kinda strange & unusual ( I mean that in a good way ). He also made a parody of one of those wonderful Hostess Twinkies Ads too & it totally cracks me up! The last picture is one that I found while searching his blog ( Be sure to click on them for larger, more detailed, versions ). He writes a personal blog where he shares his artwork & there's a lot of great stuff there as well. If you think you might like to check it out, then here's a link, please CLICK HERE!

OK, now I know if I just published these photos of silly Batman birthday cakes then that alone would be kinda funny, or quirky, but there's also something else happening here. I got these tonight from a Bat-Blog Reader named Paulo who sent them because the Bat-Blog just recently celebrated it's 3rd year anniversary. That's great & I really appreciate that but the cool thing, for me, is that I learned something new. I asked him, "Why is Batman sitting on the cakes? That's ...kinda weird!". He laughed & just said that it's a Brazilian tradition. That a lot of kid's birthday cakes have this design. Wow! See, I never knew that & I learned something new about the world. I learned something new about another culture. I know this all seems kind of corny but I really love that! I think one of the things I like best about doing this blog is getting to learn more about the world as a whole & learning to love diversity. I'll admit I'm kind of stupid about some things & getting the chance to learn about other people & places is just a rare treat I never expected when starting this dumb blog. So, Thank You to Paulo for these great pics (they're hilarious!) and thank you to all the readers who have written lately expressing their appreciation for the Bat-Blog. It really really means a lot to me.

Regular Bat-Blog Readers were recently assaulted here with our special wacky celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the 1984 Kenner SUPER POWERS Action Figures. Just scan down below for all the posts, it was crazy! Well, a new friend named Scott read them a few days ago & was inspired to send us this very cool photo! Scott said, "...a long time ago, when he was a little kid, his Dad begged their local Burger King to please please give his son this special store display sign that they had there" ( What a great Dad!! ). Of course we're talking about the SUPER POWERS CUP HOLDER COLLECTION Promotion they had back in the mid-1980's. I totally remember these, they were kinda cool! They made 4 Plastic Cups with Figural DC Comics Super Hero Characters: Superman, Wonder Woman, Darkseid, & the Dark Knight himself, Batman! Actually, Darkseid was a Villain, but you get the idea. Thank you Scott for sending this wonderful photo & sharing that great story, that's really neat. Also, this sign is pretty awesome if ya ask me!

Alright! I'm really proud to be showing off this amazing artwork done by a Bat-Blog Friend named BROHAWK. His real name is David Williams, but he's a black guy with a huge Mohawk hairstyle, so everybody calls him "Brohawk"! I love that nickname, pretty funny! But all kidding aside, he's a GREAT comic book artist! Check this out - Here's an amazing piece of art he done at a comic book convention back in 2008 ( Be sure to click on it for a larger, more detailed, version ). It's The Joker's favorite girlfriend, HARLEY QUINN! She's holding a fuse-lit bomb that I bet is intended for Batman, ha ha! The details to this thing are totally beautiful. I really like the coloring too, especially the eyes. I wanna thank David for sending this to me & I also wanna invite you guys to check out his website gallery for more nice art. You can do so by clicking HERE!

OK Now, This is pretty cool! You might have read here at the Bat-Blog before about a company in the UK called Eaglemoss who issue those special DC Super Hero Collection Lead Figures ( In England they call them "figurines", oh la la ). They make these very small, but very detailed, mini-figures of all the DC Comics comic book characters cast in lead. This company is going crazy! I mean, there are like almost 40 something of these figures now! Well, anyway, they have this new "Special Edition" one coming out soon called BATMAN AND THE BATCYCLE. Oh man! It looks pretty awesome! Now before you totally fall in love please keep in mind that this Bat-Cycle is probably NOT a large full-size statue. If ya wanna see how small these things are then be sure to click the "Figurines" Tab at their website. You'll see a photo of an artist employee painting one. Now this special one might be a little bigger but I'm not sure. For more details be sure to check out their UK website by clicking HERE!

August 27, 2009

I got this hilarious photo the other night from Chuck Dixon & it totally cracks me up! Recently he went to the 2009 Mini-Mega Con in Orlando, Florida. This is one of those comic book conventions I would really love to go to. While there, Chuck met "The Ventriloquist & The Dummy, Scarface". WOW! This costume is pretty awesome! I wanna thank Chuck for the photo, it really brightened my day. I love when Comic Book Fans get really into the characters they love. Cosplay is just one way they show they care, that's cool. Oh yeah, and for a few Bat-Blog Readers who might not know, Chuck Dixon was a MAJOR Batman comic book writer for many years during the 90's. So it's cool he got to meet "The Ventriloquist & Scarface", ha ha! Hey, if any other Bat-Blog Readers have any fun comicon or cosplay photos then please be sure to send them in! Our e-mail button is ALWAYS on the top right-hand side of this page.

game system is XBOX so they would totally freak over this! Personally, I prefer the Playstation & I really need to upgrade to the new verison, the PS3.OK, I thought I would post this just to torture you, ha ha! No, actually a good friend, known as The BATFAN, sent us these pics last night. He had just bought the brand-new BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Collector's Edition for his XBOX 360 console. Now when I first got these pics I didn't quite understand why so many pictures kind of looked the same. Then, pretty quickly I figured out that he went through a step-by-step process of slowly photographing the thing as he opened it so the experience would be like YOU are actually opening this thing up for the very first time & seeing things the way he did ...a very neat idea! Basically, in The Collector's Edition, you get the video game but it comes in a special Batman Display Case. The only way I can think of explaining it is "a bat-shaped briefcase...that's thick", ha ha. When you open that there are a few layers & you get a Batarang Prop with a display stand, some paperwork, a Leather-Bound Booklet, & the actual game disc. Now, my 2 small nephew's It's totally killing me that I can't play this game right now. All the reviews have been wonderful so I can't wait! I hope you guys are enjoying it already. I know some of you are, I have been flooded with e-mails saying, "Awesome awesome game!!". That's cool. I need to cry a little bit right now. Sorry...I can't type anymore.

August 26, 2009

Eidos Games released the brand-new BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game on August 25th & people are still going crazy! All the reports that I have been getting so far are saying that this is the BEST Batman and/or Superhero Franchise game yet!!

I couldn't sleep tonight & at about 2:30am I suddenly realized, "Oh Man, Today is the 3rd Anniversary of The Bat-Blog!! So, to commemorate this fact I thought I would post this wacky-fun graphic a friend sent to me recently. His name is Mark & he took a picture of Robin I had here & made this funny "Motivational Poster". As soon as I saw it I totally cracked up, HA HA HA! Plus, it was a very touching gesture to see somebody actually care about this stupid blog! OK, I think I'm gonna go try to get some sleep now & when I post later today it will be the 1st day of my 4th year. Also, I want to thank everybody who keeps reading this site. I really hope you enjoy it at times & it brightens your day. Thanks.

August 25, 2009

OK, I know that yesterday was the official launch of the brand-new BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game! But awhile back I made a promise to join-in on a special event on August 25th where 14 Comic Book Superhero Blogs teamed together to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of SUPER POWERS Toys! Maybe you noticed all the craziness yesterday, ha ha! It's still going on but I knew I had to take a little break to talk about this awesome new game! So, to honor the new bat-game I created these 2 new ARKHAM ASYLUM Desktop Backgrounds. These babies both feature one of Batman's coolest super-villains KILLER CROC ( or is his name Killercroc? )!! Either way he's very scary & I hope you enjoy them!! Also, if you would like other AA wallpapers or info just click on the word "Arkham Asylum" down below in the "Labels" area. That will pull up all the recent posts about the game. There are many more backgrounds & video to enjoy. Plus, I'll be doing more posts in the next few days so keep an eye out for those, whew!

You're either playing the game or you want the game! Yeah, I'm talking about the new BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game! The official launch & release of the game was yesterday & many people are saying it will be THE GAME OF THE YEAR! Sadly, I have not got to play it yet but seriously plan too. I mean, all the reviews have been very excellent...I'm pretty happy about that! While searching for alternative products in this franchise I came across these 2 extremely cool T-Shirts. One features Batman, as seen on the video game's box cover. The other T-Shirt has a JOKER graphic where the Joker ( voiced by Mark Hamill ) looks totally crazy! If you would like to know where to buy them I have added a link button down below. While there be sure to check out some of the other Batman T-Shirts they have because there's some other great ones too!

Welcome to CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG!! I know that today a lot of Bat-Blog Readers are gonna kind of freak out a little bit because there are a lot of changes here, & a huge amount of posting going on, so please let me explain. Today, August 25th, 2009 the Bat-Blog has teamed-up with many other toy collector / comic book reader / superhero-type blogs to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Kenner's SUPER POWERS Action Figure line! Yes, oh man! I can't believe it's been 25 years...I now feel kinda old! So, all the posts today are gonna be total SUPER POWERS craziness!! But, to stay inside the Bat-Blog theme, everything here will be totally Batman-related, I promise. Of course we all know & love this special line of toys. They're Classic! In 1984 Kenner got the license from DC Comics to make a line of superhero action figures & it became an instant success! So much so that they even started to create other products bearing that name. They even did cartoons & had their own line of DC comic books...it was crazy! Just to jog your memory is a photo showing most, if not all, of the figures in the series. Also, down below is a list of all the websites participating in this HUGE event that everybody decided to call "CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG!!". Now, all the other websites will each do a set of feature stories, like here, where they will each focus on certain SUPER POWER action figures or characters. So, please be sure to visit the other websites on the list. In the next few posts we'll take you down memory lane to re-visit some childhood favorites. If you had these as a kid you'll remember them fondly ( I hope ). If you are way younger, & are totally unfamiluar with them, then you're about to be educated in coolness! Why? Because Kenner made one of the very BEST toy lines...EVER!!